


Stay With Me

by happyaspie



Series: Spider-man Stories: Not Otherwise Specified [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers Tower, Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Everyone Needs A Hug, Hand Wavy Medical Details, Happy Hogan is a Good Bro, Happy Hogan needs a hug, Helicopter Mentor Tony Stark, Hurt Tony, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Major Character Injury, Medical Inaccuracies, Memories, Not Canon Compliant, Pepper Potts Feels, Pepper Potts Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Feels, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Mess, Platonic Cuddling, Precious Peter Parker, The Avengers Are Still A Team, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, the author is not a doctor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-09-29 17:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20439842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyaspie/pseuds/happyaspie
Summary: Tony is injured on a mission and Peter is left trying to cope.  Luckily he has His Aunt, Happy and Pepper there to support him along the way because at the moment, everything feels unbearable.  All he can do it try and trust it when the other adults in his life assure him that Tony will recover.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This (along with a few other stories) has been floating around in my head for some time. I've been writing it for almost a month and I was really unsure about posting it. ... but seeing as the 'this draft will be deleted' day is just around the corner I decided to suck it up and put the first of the four chapters I've finished up.

It was Friday afternoon and Peter was sitting at his desk dutifully scratching out the notes his teacher had projected onto the board in front of him. As he did so, his foot was tapping under his desk in anticipation. There were only a few hours left in the school day and as soon as it was over he would be swinging himself towards the Avengers Tower to see Tony. 

The man had been gone on a mission_ for days_. When it had first come up it had caused a great deal of tension between the two of them because Tony had been adamant that Peter not come along. It was going to be a long, rough mission and Peter had school. Final exams were coming up soon and the man wanted him to be there to review the material with his class. _"I don't care that you think you already know it all! School comes first, kid. You're not coming. Period."_, Tony had shouted as Peter tried to hold his ground. He was supposed to be an Avenger in training but after having been left out of the last several assignments because of school he was starting to feel less and less like a part of the team and more like some sort of a mascot. Yet no matter how much he pleaded, Tony wouldn't relent. _"Kid. There will be other missions and as soon as the right one comes up, I'll let you know. This isn't it. It's too risky. Just, just go to school and I'll see you on Friday. I promise to tell you all about it, yeah?"_ All Peter had been able to do was nod his head because he knew he'd already lost that fight. So, rather than continuing to shout, he hugged his mentor good-bye and told him he would be there the second school let out for the weekend.

So that's where he was now, anxiously waiting for the bell to ring so that he could dart out of the building swing to Tony who would no doubt be waiting for him with a large pizza or maybe some kind of sandwiches. All he knew was that there would be something there for him to snack out as Tony regaled him with every exciting detail of everything that had taken place while he'd been away. Just as his mind was starting to drift away from the extensive notes he was meant to be taking he was jolted out of his thought's by a voice booming over the intercom. "I need Peter Parker to report to the front office please and have him bring his things with him.", the tinny voice called out causing all heads to turn towards him.

The teacher waved his hand towards Peter to indicate that he didn't feel the need to repeat the message that they'd all clearly heard and went back to droning on and on about the American Revolution. His mind felt tangled with worry and confusion as he began to rapidly cram all of his items into his bag. He couldn't think of one reason why the office would be calling him, let alone why they would feel he needed to bring all of his things with him. Tony would_ never_ pick him up from school _early_ and he didn't know of any appointments that May would be coming to collect him for, leaving him with no other rational ideas.

On his way down the hall, he'd managed to convince himself it was nothing to worry himself over but upon walking into the office Peter's heart dropped down into his stomach. May was standing there and that wouldn't have been so troubling had Happy not been standing a half step behind her. He locked eyes with them immediately and while May tried to offer him a cautious smile, Happy's featured remained decidedly pained. Suddenly every casual thought about forgotten appointments or unexpected paperwork flew out of his head and were replaced by mild panic. "Wh-what's going on? What are you doing here?", he asked carefully.

Happy swallowed and turned his head, while May reached out a hand towards him. "Let's not do this here, Sweetie. Come on, the principal said we could use his office.", she replied in her most gentle voice. The voice she only used when the news was going to be devastating and all at once dread filled his chest cavity like ice water.

By the time Happy was closing the office door behind them, Peter had been able to once again find his words. "It's about Tony... isn't it.", he whispered having already inferred what was going on. It was the only reason that both Happy and May would be there. The only reason why they would look so...scared to talk to him and when they both nodded in the affirmative his mind went to places he'd never imagined they would go. The idea that Tony could die on a mission had never crossed his mind until that moment. "Is.. is he...?", he breathed out unable to get any further. He tongue had gone numb and his head was starting to swim.

"No!", Happy cut in quickly realizing where the boy's question was leading. "No, he's... well, he's hurt, kid.", he added softly before taking a deep breath and allowing May to take over.

Peter sat down in the lightly cushioned chair in front of the principal's desk. It was a familiar chair. He'd sat in it many times at this point, though usually, it was with the principal himself staring him down with disappointment. He never in his life thought he would ever wish to be in trouble as much as he did at that moment. He wanted May and Happy to fade away and for the principal to walk in and give him detention for something stupid that he'd done. He didn't want to be in there for this. Tony was invincible. The Invincible Iron Man. He couldn't be hurt. This was a dream, it had to be so he began to pinch his arm harder and harder because that's what people are always saying you're supposed to do if you get locked in a dream only it wasn't working. He didn't wake up but May did come towards him, placing her soft gentle hand on top of his, willing him to stop the self-abuse.

"Stop that, Peter. Look at me.", she said quietly but Peter didn't look at her. "Look at me, please.", she repeated a bit more firmly. This time Peter's eyes did flicker up but they looked hollow and afflicted. Eyes she hadn't seen since Ben's passing and it made her breath hitch. "Peter, he's going to be okay. It's not good but he's going to recover. Do you hear me?"

Nodding his head, Peter tried to fight back the burning lump in his throat. "What happened?", he asked as his eyebrows knit together in anguished curiosity. When May turned towards Happy, his gaze shifted from one adult to the other. "Happy?"

Taking a deep breath through his nose, Happy knelt down in front of the seat Peter was still sitting in. The action hurt his knees and he wanted to groan but the fact was, the ache in his chest at the moment was far worse. He hated it that Tony was injured and he'd just discovered that he really hated it when his friend's kid look so... broken. "They were ambushed. All of the intel they'd been given was false. It was a trap from the very beginning and they walked right into it. Tony, well, he took the brunt of it. Tried to get everyone out, took hits that weren't meant for him and they all added up.", he said with a crack in his voice that he'd not anticipated. "He's being looked after by Cho and her team. Best doctors in the world. He's going to be okay."

"He's really going to be okay?", Peter asked skeptically because while the words coming out both May and Happy's mouths were meant to be reassuring, their tones were anything but. Before he could stop himself he was questioning it. "If he's going to be okay then why are you here?"

May knelt down beside Happy who was now rubbing his hand miserably across his brow and took both of Peter's hands in hers. "He's been very heavily sedated for almost twenty-four hours. His injuries are intense. His body needs time to recover."

Still feeling shakey and unsure, Peter took a deep breath and tried to force himself to feel more confident than he was. "What sort of injuries?", he asked in as steady of a voice as he could pull from his lightly shivering frame.

"He took several hard hits to the head. They were worried about brain swelling but so far it's not been as bad as they'd expected.", Happy said before huffing a small laugh. "You can probably thank his suit for that.", he added before his small smile fell back into something more serious. "His left arm was crushed and will need surgery but they're putting that off for now. There are a handful of other less pressing issues but for the time being, their main focus is on his brain."

Peter took several moments to process all of the information he'd been given. It was glaringly clear that there were details he wasn't being given and maybe he was slightly grateful because everything he had been told so far was hard enough to hear. So rather than push for more as he was sure they were expecting him to do, he moved past it. "When will he wake up?"

"If things don't digress, then they're hoping to start weaning him off of the medication that's keeping him out early Monday morning. Once they do that, it could take a few days before he's coherent.", May provided, squeezing his hands lightly. Something Peter was grateful for. It was comforting but more importantly, he was pretty sure it was the only thing keeping him tethered to the chair he was sitting in. It almost felt as though he would float away if she were to let go.

"Can I see him?", he finally asked with trepidation. He'd seen every episode of Gray's Anatomy and was somewhat afraid he was going to be told that he didn't meet the criteria to be allowed visitation, _immediate family_. The idea felt daunting and even though Happy started to reply not even a full two seconds later that seemed to be just enough time for his chest to clench with further dread.

"They're suggesting that only family go in the room with him right now--", Happy began after making a point of resting his hand heavily on the leg that Peter had pulled under himself.

Whatever else, Happy was going to say cut off by Peter's choking sob. Tony had promised that he would see him on Friday and it was Friday. He had to see him. _It was a promise_. He knew that he wasn't being very rational but he didn't care because a promise was a promise and no one was going to stop him from seeing Tony. He was sure that they couldn't. 

"--No!--", Peter rasped before he felt his aunt's gentle hands tugging him out of the chair and into her arms on the floor while Happy's voice overtook his. 

"--Shh, hey, listen, kid.", he said softly as he reached over to place his hand on Peter's shaking back. "Pepper's already made arrangements for us to be allowed in but you can't shout like that, okay, kid?"

"I won't.", Peter rapidly agreed as he pulled away from his aunt and tried to stand up on unsteady legs. "Can we go now?"

"Yeah, we can go now."

~o~o~o~o~o~

The ride to the tower's medical facility felt longer than it should have. What was normally a thirty-minute drive seemed to be taking ages and Peter was having to resist the urge to look up mortality and recovery rates on brain injury. At one point he'd gone so far as to feebly hand his phone over to May telling her that he didn't want to look anything up. It had probably been an odd thing to say with no real context but she seemed to understand and quietly slipped the device into her purse. 

Instead, he passed the time by leaning onto the window, watching the trees and buildings go by. When they were stopped in traffic he would watch the people wondering how they could possibly be smiling at a time like this. At one point watching the people laughing as they walked down the sidewalk looking carefree and light was more than he could take and he sat to lay his head in his hands. He didn't want to see anything. He didn't want to hear anything. Not if it was happy. It was selfish but at the moment it was almost as if he wanted the rest of the world to feel a miserable as he did.

"Is your head bothering you?", May asked, knowing that Peter was prone to headaches. Especially during times of overwhelming stress. "I can get you some water and tablets when we get to the tower if you need me too."

"'m fine.", Peter mumbled into his hands, except now that she's mentioned it, it was as if his body decided to make it so. "It might hurt a little bit but 'm fine."

Soon after, they were pulling into the familiar underground garage that housed all of Tony's numerous cars and Peter found himself walking towards the elevator without much thought. The tower was like his second home and he didn't need to be given any instructions about how to get anywhere in it. Despite that, Happy called for him to wait up so that they could enter the facility together. The hold up was making him irrationally annoyed. All he wanted to do was get to Tony. '_Tony, Tony, Tony_', echoed through the back of his head, as it had in every quiet moment since walking into his school's office.

The second he had Happy and May both on his heels, he stepped into the elevator and pressed the call button almost before either of the adults had time to board. He didn't even care. He had to get to medical,_ to Tony._

When the elevator dinged on the correct floor, Peter took a deep breath and waited for the doors to slide open. When they did his nose was immediately assaulted by the expected scent of medical-grade disinfectant and latex. The smell alone caused his mind to flood with memories of his own numerous visits to the medical wing. _"You know it's really weird that you can smell the latex, right, kid?_", Tony had asked him once when he'd complained about the less than appealing aroma. Though, the last time they had been in there together the conversation had been less humorous. "_You can't keep doing this, Pete. Every time you get hurt I have a small heart attack. I'm begging you to stop jumping into things. I need you to stay alive, kid"_

'_Stay alive_', he needed Tony to stay alive too he just never thought he needed to tell him that. Maybe he should have. Then before he could get too lost in his head, Pepper started talking to him. "Peter.", she sighed out sounding exhausted and looking far more disheveled than he had ever seen her look before. She was wearing sweatpants with a large sweatshirt that he could only assume was Tony's. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun and her eyes looked red and glossy. She was carrying a cup of coffee with her but she looked like she needed a good night's sleep more than she needed the beverage. He didn't say that though. It would be hypocritical. He already knew he wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon either. 

Allowing himself to be directed towards a well-lit waiting-room, Peter only glanced over his shoulder once to see if May and Happy were still following him. Of course, they were. They were just as interested in Tony's wellbeing as he was. "How's he doing?", Happy asked once they'd all seated themselves onto the cushy couches lining the walls of the large room. 

"No changes", Pepper said leaving Peter to wonder if that was a good or a bad thing but soon enough his unasked question was being answered by Happy's quiet reply.

"That's good I guess, huh?", he almost whispered "Stable is good." As their conversation progressed it became clear that there had been a marginal amount of improvement overnight but not much more had changed since then. The swelling around his brain had never gotten to the critical point that they'd thought it might and what had appeared was thus far, manageable. His heart rate and blood pressure were holding steady within the expected range, given the circumstances and all that was left to do was wait. 

Waiting was not something Peter was good at. He was the kid that went searching for his Christmas presents the moment December arrived and relentlessly pestered for information on any kind of surprise he might have gotten wind of. His enthusiasm and curiosity were something that could be both endearing and frustrating all in one go and not much had changed about that as he'd grown. _"Kid! Chill out, I'll tell you where we're going when we get there. It's called a surprise. You do know what that is, right?_", Tony had teased when they' been on their way to the surprise trip to Legoland that Tony had planned for his birthday. That was the kind of waiting he could deal with. The kind where you know no matter what the result was, you'd be happy about it.

This kind of waiting was much harder to handle. It was anxiety-inducing to have to wait for an outcome that was unpredictable. Like waiting for his exam scores to be returned to him. No matter how well he thought he did on the test there was still a nagging sense of unease that came from waiting to see the numbers scrolled across the paper. Deep in thought, Peter found himself almost smiling as Tony's words again came back to him. _"You know fretting about isn't going to change anything, right? Just relax about_ _it._", He vaguely wondered if the man would be giving him the same advice now. 

Sighing deeply he looked up from where he'd been staring at the floor only to unexpectedly meet eyes with Pepper. "Are you ready to go see him?", she asked carefully and when he nodded his head she nodded her's as well. "The room is pretty cold, I got you a jacket to use.", she said as she handed over a navy blue hoodie that Peter instantly recognized as Tony's. Swallowing hard, he slipped it over his exposed arms and started to follow her through the doors and down the wide corridor. "The doctor says we can talk to him but that we should keep our voices low."

Stopping just outside of the door, Pepper looked at Peter as if there was something else she wanted to say but no words came. Instead, she eventually cracked the door open and quietly walked inside with Peter close behind. 

The first thing Peter noticed when he got inside was the sound. He could hear the hum of the various machines and the steady beep of the monitors. Then once he'd made it far enough into the room to see the bed where is mentor lay he had to close his eyes for a moment. The sight was overwhelming. He'd never seen the man so still. He was laying on his back with wires and tubes coming at him from all directions. The most intimidating, being the intubation tube that was protruding from the corner of his mouth. He kept his eyes shut until he felt Pepper's hand on his shoulder.

"It's a lot to take in.", she said softly before leading him to a chair at Tony's bedside. It was obvious that Pepper had been in it for a good portion of the night and day. There was a blanket tossed over the back while several empty cups and a few wrappers lined the table beside it. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

"I don't know.", Peter replied honestly because he really hadn't had time to absorb it all yet. He still felt like he was outside of his body or that this was a dream of some sort. It didn't feel real. Nothing about the last hour and a half felt real. Then as he sat, he felt a blanket being tossed over his shoulders. He hadn't even realized he was shivering.

Pepper pulled up a chair and sat with him for a little while. Peter listened as she told Tony that he was there and watched as she held his hand, rubbing her fingers over his knuckles. The more she spoke the more Peter found himself wanting to do the same but for some reason, it felt awkward to so in front of anyone. So, he stayed quiet instead. He wasn't sure how long they say there together but it was long enough that he was growing tired and his legs had begun to grow stiff from the way he had them tucked up under him in the chair.

Eventually, Pepper left the room, telling Peter that she had some things to look into and would be back in a little while. It occurred to him that she was more than likely making an excuse to give him some time alone with the man and honestly, he was grateful. He had so many things sitting right at the tip of his tongue that he wanted to say but had been actively holding them back, not wanting to say them with an audience. 

He literally sighed in relief when the door clicked behind her and he immediately scooted forward in his chair so that he could take his mentor's hand in his. "Hi, Tony. It's me, Peter. Peter Parker. Well, I guess you know that. It, it's Friday and well, you told me I could come over so, so I'm here. You were supposed to tell me about the mission.", he said before taking a moment's pause to gather his next words. "You can't die, Tony. You're always telling me that I have to stay alive but so do you. I can't... I don't know what I would do without you. Everyone is saying that you're going to be fine but--", he started but he had to pause again. This time to stave off the tears that were finally coming. Taking a deep breath, he started over. "They say you're going to be fine but I'm scared. I'm so scared that you won't be so just, please. Please don't die."

That was all he could get out before dissolving into nearly silent tears. With his head resting on the bed beside where he was still holding his mentor's hand, he all at once felt alone. It seemed strange to feel so very alone with Tony right there beside him but it was as though the man was nothing more than an empty shell. There were no quips or exaggerated facial expressions, no teasing or lecturing. None of the things that made Tony,_ Tony_ were there. ...and then suddenly there was a hand on his back.

Happy sighed as he began to gently pat Peter's back. He'd walked in expected to find Peter sitting subdues by Tony's side. Pepper had indicated that he'd not done much more than blink since he'd sat down so he wasn't really prepared to see him shaking with tears the second he'd stepped in. "Peter.", he whispered in a hushed tone. "It's going to be alright. I promise. There's no other option. It's going to be alright."

Grateful that he no longer had to feel alone, Peter rapidly got up from where he sat and collapsed into Happy's arms. For have a second, Peter was worried that the man was going to tell him that they weren't there yet but he was relieved to find himself in a full embrace. "I'm sorry.", Peter choked out as he tried to reel back his emotions but Happy just shushed him quietly. "It's fine, kid. Come on, let's go get you something to eat, alright."

"Where's Pepper?", Peter asked, looking around expecting to see her returning to her place at Tony's side but she wasn't there.

"I finally convinced her to go take care of herself for a little while. She's gone up to eat and get some real sleep. We need to take care of you too. It's late, kid and you know Tony would have my head for not feeding you.", he added with a small forced smile, hoping those words would be enough to get Peter to follow him. 

In reality, Peter knew Happy was right. For a man could barely keep a house plant watered Tony was oddly persistent about him eating three meals a day. _"You can't go skipping meals, kiddo-- Don't give me that look. Do as I say not as I do." _ He'd heard those words more often than he could count. He supposed that the least he could right then was to allow Happy to get him some dinner. Even if his stomach was telling him that he didn't need it.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Dinner had been hard to swallow. He didn't feel hungry and even though they had ordered from one of his favorite restaurants the food was flavorless. He managed to eat half of his plate before giving up and pushing it away. He didn't even want to smell it anymore and for several minutes he thought May was going to force him to finish his portion but she didn't.

"You're not going to eat any more of that are you.", she said with a deep sigh. When Peter shook his head, she tried to smile. "...and nothing I can say will convince you, will it."

Peter lay his down on the table that they were sitting at in the corner of the waiting room. "I'm not hungry.", he quietly uttered despite the obviousness of the statement. 

"I know, sweetie.", May said as she reached across the table and patted his hand while looking across the room to where Happy was sitting by the window ignoring his own container. In spite of every cautious reassurance being offered from every angle, the entire room felt heavy with despair. "It's all going to be fine."


	2. Chapter 2

That night, no amount of convincing could get Peter off of the medical floor and into any kind of bed. Not even when he was offered a cot in one of the many empty rooms right there. Instead, he remained stubbornly curled up in the chair at his mentor's side until after midnight when both Happy and May insisted that he stretch out and try to sleep on the lobby couch. He did try. He tried for several hours, yet for all of the time he spent with his head down, his eyes barely closed. He knew he should sleep but sleep was elusive and he wasn't in the right frame of mind to go searching for it. 

When he realized that May was asleep beside him and Happy was finally asleep across the room he quietly crept towards the large double doors in order to return to his mentor's side. Only this time, instead of curling up in the chair, he folded his arms on the edge of the mattress beside the man's rising and falling chest and leaned over to rest his head. It was there that he finally found sleep.

~o~o~o~o~o~

The next morning he awoke with a stiff back and blanket tossed over his shoulders. At first, he wasn't sure what had pulled him from sleep but he soon realized that it was the sound of Pepper quietly speaking to the doctors at the other side of the room. The lay there still and silent for a moment, contemplating whether or not he wanted to hear what they were discussing. Though, in the end, his conscience insisted that he inform them of his wakefulness. So, he slowly straightened his back, cringing when he felt a pop in what felt like every single vertebra. The quiet groan that followed seemed to draw the adults attention to him causing them to pause in their conversation.

"Peter.", Pepper said kindly as she crossed the room and helped him to his feet, rubbing his back all the while. "FRIDAY said you didn't fall asleep until after four. It's still really early. Do you want to go lie down in your own bed for a while?"

"No. I'm up now.", Peter replied as he attempted to stretch the ache out of his back and neck. He had no intentions of going back to sleep. Not when the reality of the situation was already starting to creep back into the forefront of his mind. Pepper just sighed and looked him over with concern, making him feel uncomfortable. She had enough on her mind and he hated the idea of her worrying about him as well. "I'm fine, Pepper. I've survived off of less sleep.", he added while avoiding her eyes despite the fact that he was speaking the truth. There was at least one time where he'd gone on for days with no more than a power nap in between them. Though it had been due to occupational nightmares rather than the current unabating anxiety.

He thought back to that first time that he'd been plagued with the relentless night terrors. He'd kept it to himself all the way up until he was so exhausted that he could no longer cope. Thus leading him into a complete mental break-down in Tony's lab one Friday afternoon. After a teary confession, Tony had looked him over with soft concern saying, '_You have to sleep, Pete. You can't survive without it. What can I do to help?_' When Peter had only shrugged his shoulders the man had insisted that they watch a movie on the couch where Peter ended up resting his head on Tony's thigh while a callused hand ran gently through his hair until he was peacefully asleep. 

That had been a long time ago and he'd long since stopped trying to hide the nightmares from anyone. On the nights that May wasn't available to console him, he would call Tony. Even if it was the wee hours of the morning, the man would answer by the second ring. _'Having a bad night, huh, kiddo?_', he would ask before talking to Peter about anything and everything until he fell back to sleep to the sound of his voice. 

He hadn't realized that those passing memories had made his eyes water until he felt, Pepper's gentle fingers, wipe away a stray tear and again guilt consumed him. "I'm sorry, Pepper. You don't have to worry about me.", Peter said quietly. 

Because she was going to worry about him whether he wanted her to or not, Pepper sighed. "If you're going to be up, then you should probably eat." Peter nodded before reluctantly leaving the room but not without one last look at Tony. It still didn't feel quite real. He still felt as though he were on the outside looking in and there was still a sensation of tingling anxiety that swirled with a welcome numbness all throughout his body. He sort of wished the numbness would overpower all else and tried to focus on that.

When he reentered the waiting area, he'd expected to find both Happy and May still asleep seeing as the sun had yet to properly rise but they were both awake all the same. For a brief moment he thought he was going to get yelled at for sneaking off but neither adult seemed eager to bring it up. Instead, May patted the seat beside her, while Happy collected a few pastries on a plate and carried them over towards him. 

Peter did little more than nibble at the breakfast that was offered to him. The only thing that had him eating at all was the fact that he knew he would end up miserably sick if he didn't. Once he'd taken enough to satisfy the two adults who seemed to be watching his every move, he laid down across the couch. Not because he had any intentions of sleeping but because he lacked the energy or motivation to do anything else.

After a while, May handed Peter his phone back, suggesting that he check his messages. There were several from Ned asking him about his early exit from school the day prior. He read the multiple messages taking note that they became increasingly insistent that he answer as soon as possible and he knew that he should do just that. Only he couldn't bring himself to type the words. It almost felt that by doing so he would be speaking into existence. Solidifying the fact that it was real. However, after a great deal of internal struggle, he replied simply that Tony got hurt on a mission and that he didn't want to talk about it. He vaguely wondered if those words would frighten his friend but he didn't allow himself the time to contemplate it enough to extend his message or elaborate. He just didn't want to have that conversation.

The remainder of the morning went by in a blur as he alternated between laying listlessly on the couch and pacing restlessly across the room with some short visits to Tony's side in between. At some point, Food had been set before him and he mindlessly picked at it before going back to his useless routine only to have it interrupted when a new figure entered the room. 

"Mr. Rhodes.", Peter sighed out as something of a greeting once their equally tired eyes had met. "Are, are you okay?", he hesitantly inquired, knowing that the man had been on the same mission as his mentor. Nearly all of the Avenger's had been and he suddenly felt awful for never once inquiring about their wellbeing. He'd been singularly focused on Tony. 

"I'm fine, kid.", Rhodes replied though the deep limp in his right leg said otherwise. "Just got released. Came to check on our resident self-sacrificial idiot.", he added before turning towards Happy. "How's he doing?"

As Happy began to rattle off the different bits of information, Peter made an effort to not listen. He considered slipping away and going back to Tony's hospital room but Pepper was in there and he'd been avoiding her since that morning. At that point, he almost wished he'd taken May up on the offer to go with her back to the apartment for a couple of hours. She had left a little under an hour ago to shower and change into her work clothes because whether any of them wanted her to or not, she couldn't miss another shift. Thankfully she hadn't forced the issue, though he sort of assumed she'd also spoken to Happy about looking after him while she was out. Not that he needed looking after but the man had been persistently trying to get him to sleep since she'd left.

Soon, he heard his name and glanced up. It was Pepper. He didn't even know when she'd reentered the waiting area but looking around it appeared that Maybe she had swapped places with Rhodes and Happy. Before he could get up off of the couch he'd been plastered to since lunch, she was sitting beside him.

"Have you slept anymore?", she asked softly even though she more than likely already knew the answer. All she would have had to do was ask FRIDAY... or look at him. He was sure he looked just as disheveled as she did at this point. Hair all a mess, wrinkled clothes, and bloodshot eyes.

"No.", Peter replied honestly. There was no point in lying. "Have you?"

"No.", Pepper sighed out with a smile that tugged ever so lightly at the corner of her mouth. "We could go up to the penthouse... You could change into some more comfortable clothes and take a nap in your own bed."

Peter considered the offer because it would be nice to be out of the stiff jeans and at this point he'd had on the same t-shirt for over twenty-four hours. He half-way wondered if May or Happy had put her up to suggesting it. They had been nagging him about sleep for hours. 

Eventually, his desire to be out of his school clothes won out and he nodded his head. The ride in the elevator was silent save for the whir of the mechanics and he was soon walking into what had become his second home. Only this time, Tony wasn't on his heels or waiting for him in the kitchen. There was no, '_Hey, kid! Come tell me about your patrol while I make you a snack.'_ or _'Let's hurry up and get changed so we can watch that movie you've been bugging me about._' It felt wrong.

He ended up hurrying to the stairs before any of those thoughts had time to sink in and darted into the safety of his room. It was twice the size of the one at his apartment and stocked with more things that he would ever really need. Tony had money and enjoyed spending it on him. He'd eventually had to give in an allow it to happen. _'I'm a literal billionaire, kid and if I don't spend my money on the people I care about then what's the point of having it?_', the man had scoffed on a regular basis. Though, the first few times the man had said that to him, Peter had blown it off. It wasn't until after Pepper told him that, spending money was how Tony said 'I love you' that he really started to accept the gifts with gratitude.

Sighing heavily, Peter grabbed a new set of clothing and went into his very own private bathroom where he stood up the hot spray of the shower for longer than he'd meant to. As the water relentlessly struck his back he began to relax. Muscles he'd not even realized he'd been tensing began to soften and suddenly the welcome numbness was fading and tears began to fall. Except for this time, he didn't even try to pull them back. He sank to the floor and allowed the hurt he'd been harboring to escape him in waves of silent tears and choking sobs.

It wasn't until FRIDAY warned him that he'd been in the shower for over half of an hour that he finally brought himself to his feet and turned off the water. After he had dressed and combed his damp hair to the side, the exited back into his room where his bed seemed to be pleading for him to come lay in it. 'Just for a moment', he told himself as he peeled back the comforter and slid his body underneath. The intention had been to close his eyes _just long enough_ that the sting would leave them. He'd told himself he would lay there for five minutes at most before returning to medical to see May when she stopped by just before she headed off to work. Yet it seemed as though his body had other ideas and he was sound asleep the moment his head hit his towel-covered pillow.

When he woke next, it was to Pepper shaking him gently awake. "Peter?", she called quietly until his eyes flickered open and began to focus once again. "It's after six and Happy says you didn't eat much lunch. I told him I would wake you up for dinner."

It took a few moments for Peter's head to fill him on why Pepper would be waking him up and why Happy would care how much lunch he'd eaten but once it did he felt the same crushing sadness that had overtaken him while in the shower. Then his eyes began to stupidly water all over again. He was starting to wonder how he could possibly have any tears left to shed. Surely there was some sort of biological limit to how much saline one's tear ducts could produce in such a limited frame of time.

He didn't think too much on that before he realized that Pepper had said it was after six. That meant he'd slept through May's return. Suddenly guilt mingled with his misery and rather than sitting up as he should, he rolled over so that his back was to the doorway where Pepper stood. "I'm not hungry.", he uttered into the blankets even though his stomach was telling him otherwise. He'd not eaten a proper meal since lunch the day before and he was starting to feel it. 

He'd expected Pepper to insist or to argue with him but it seemed that she'd exited the room before he even had time to consider glancing over his shoulder at her. For a moment he was disappointed that she hadn't pressed the issue. Then he was angry with himself for feeling so conflicted about something so trivial as how much effort Pepper put into getting him to eat when she had her own wellbeing to focus on. 

Though he wasn't left alone to dwell on it too long before Happy was entering the room with a styrofoam carton. "Come on, kid. It's up time. I've got dinner.", he said without near as much enthusiasm as the words would elude to. "Pepper's worried about you."

"Well, she shouldn't be.", Peter all but snapped. "She's already worried about Tony. She doesn't need to worry about me too."

Peter felt the edge of the bed dip where Happy had sat down. "Peter, she's going to worry about you. You're special to Tony so you're special to her.", she said before sighing. "Besides, taking care of you is good for her. Reminding you to eat and sleep forces her to remember to do those things for herself."

Taking a few deep breaths, Peter rolled over to face the man sitting at the edge of his bed. "Did she sleep?", he asked accusingly. 

"She did.", Happy replied softly. "She said she wasn't going to. That she was only coming up to make sure you did but she took a nap as well."

No longer having the capacity to feel angry or annoyed, Peter sighed and attempted to sit up. "Is Tony still okay?", he asked hesitantly.

Happy smiled at the inquiry and handed the boy the carton of food. "Here. Dinner in bed.", he said with a smile before addressing the question at hand. "Things are looking pretty good considering. It's still the plan to start waking him up Monday morning. Then once they have a good feel for his mental status, they'll schedule surgery for his arm."

Nodding his head, Peter opened the container of food and began to eat. Not nibble at it or pick at it but to legitimately eat it, finishing the lukewarm cheeseburger and soggy fries in record time. Happy was quick to remove the empty container and replace it with a can of soda that Peter took that in just as quickly as he had the food. Satisfied with the lack of emptiness in his stomach, Peter looked at Happy for a moment. There was a question right at the tip of his tongue but he wasn't sure if the man could answer it or if he was going to have to wait for May to get off of work. 

"What is it, kid?", Happy asked after Peter had been staring at him for a few seconds too long. "What's on your mind?"

"I was thinking about school. I don't think I can go to school on Monday. I'll just be worried the whole time. I won't get anything done and people will ask me questions and I don't want to answer them--"

"--Hey, calm down.", Happy interrupted when Peter began to get more and more upset the more he spoke. "You're not going to school on Monday. You aunt already arranged it. You're going to have all of your study guides sent to you through your school email account." He considered adding that he didn't have to go to school at all that week unless he wanted to but decided to leave that conversation between Peter and his aunt. 

Peter immediately calmed knowing that he wasn't going to have to face going into that building on Monday morning and spending the entire day on edge as he waited to get word on Tony's condition. He was almost sure he wasn't going to be allowed in the room when his mentor began to wake but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to stand being anywhere but the tower when it happened. "Okay, that, that's good.", Peter said before breathing in deeply. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, kid.", Happy said as he rose from the edge of the bed with the intention of cleaning up the trash. However as he made it to the door, he turned around to see Peter readying himself to follow him. "You coming back down?", he asked in slight surprise. He'd sort of expected the boy to go back to sleep once he'd eaten but he supposed that was probably wishful thinking.

"Yeah.", he said quietly as he slid his arms back into the jacket Pepper had loaned him. Even though he had a closet full of his own jackets and hoodies and drawers full of flannels and sweatshirts, he didn't want any of them. He wanted Tony's jacket. It was large, soft and smelled like a combination of cologne and the workshop. It smelled like home.

By the time he made it back down into the waiting room, it was after seven. May wouldn't be back until two in the morning so that left him a lot of time to try and figure out what to do with himself. Taking a quick look around the room, he could see that Happy was back to watching the television and Rhodes was standing in the corner of the room on his phone talking to someone. Pepper was nowhere to be seen so he suspected she was with Tony, which exactly where he wanted to be. 

Sighing he made his way towards the double doors, pausing only for a moment to see if anyone was going to stop him. When no one said anything he slowly made his way down the corridor. Several nurses and doctors looked up at him but none of them questioned his presence. _He was family. _Pepper had said as much when she arranged for him to be allowed to visit the same as she had with Happy and Rhodey. He wondered who else was on the shortlist. 

When he walked into Tony's room he was unsurprised to see that Pepper was in the chair beside the bed. They met eyes and for a moment and he was concerned that he'd interrupted something but then Pepper got up to pull over a second chair over beside hers. "I wasn't sure if I would see you anymore tonight.", she whispered across the room.

"I wanted to see him.", Peter tentatively replied as he shifted on his feet. "Happy said he's still okay."

"He's right. Everything is still okay. Come have a seat. Think you can keep him company while I go get some coffee?", she asked and Peter was grateful for the opportunity for some alone time. He really wanted to talk to Tony and it still didn't feel right doing so in front of anyone. Talking to Tony as he slept felt intimate and he didn't want to share his words with anyone else.

The second the door clicked shut, Peter stood up and walked right up to the edge of the bed. For a moment, all he did was watch him breathe. Then he slowly lifted his hand to briefly touch the man's face. That was something he'd never done. Tony had touched _his_ face numerous times as he spoke to him firmly or wiped away his tears but it had never gone the other way around. It seemed odd yet comforting all at once. Then, suddenly worried that their time alone was growing short, he tried to speak. At first, his words were quiet and hesitant. "Hi, Tony. It's me, Peter. I, I want to talk to you. I really do but I don't, I don't really know what to say.", he said before smiling a very small smile because he was sure that if Tony were awake he would be laughing right now 

The man often accused him of being unable to shut up but Peter couldn't help it. Anytime he got excited or nervous words would just fall out of his mouth in rapid succession. Tony would listen for a while before laughing and ultimately interrupting him. '_Kid!_ _Do you ever stop talking?_', he would mirthfully shout in an attempt to get him to slow down. It never worked for long. There would be a brief pause where Peter would snap his mouth shut with a nervous laugh, only to fall back into his rambling moments later. 

With those memories still floating around in his head, he was eventually able to find more to say. "I guess you probably think that's weird, huh. That I don't know what to say right now but you know, it's just as weird not hearing _you_ say anything. You're always trying to tell me that I talk too much but you, you talk a lot too, Tony and I miss it. I miss you. Just keep staying alive, okay? ...because if you don't... I don't... I don't know if I could handle that. I can't possibly lose you too." 

Those last words left his throat and eyes burning all over again and Peter was starting to get frustrated with himself. He didn't know how many times he'd been told that things were progressing as they should and that everything was going to be fine. He was certain they wouldn't lie to him about that but the back of his mind kept telling him that anything could still happen. Anything at all and there was still plenty to be upset about. It was exhausting. 

Peter managed to settle himself back into the chair right before Pepper stepped back into the room. He could hear her sit down beside him but he never looked up. There were still traitorous tears threatening to escape his eyes and he didn't want anyone to see them. As such continued to stare down at his own lap. Then suddenly there was a warm cup placed in his hands. Steam was rising from the small opening and he took a moment to breathe it in. Hot chocolate. Glancing beside him he wondered if that had been an intentional selection. He wondered if she knew how many times Tony had made him hot chocolate in the middle of the night after he'd woken from a nightmare or come to visit after terrible patrol.

He couldn't help but smile. It was funny how certain smells could bring on such strong memories but with the scent of chocolate wafting into his nose he could almost hear Tony's voice. It rang through his head as clear as day, the same as it had so many times over the last two days. _ 'Here, I made some hot chocolate for you. They say it warms the heart and soothes the soul or some nonsense like that.'_, he would say with a smirk before wrapping him up in a blanket and pulling him close.

Sipping at the contents of the cup, Peter sighed. It wasn't completely nonsense. The rich sweetness coating his tongue did warm his heart and soothe his soul but that could have just as easily been the memory. Then again, that particular memory only existed because the hot chocolate did so maybe it was a combination of the two. "Thank's Pepper, it's just what I needed.", he finally uttered after probably a few minutes too long but she seemed unfazed when she smiled back at him.

"It warms the heart and soothes the soul. That's what my father used to tell me anyway.", she said wistfully spoke and that was the first time it ever occurred to Peter that maybe it was Pepper was who Tony had heard that from. It wouldn't be surprising, he knew that she stayed in the suite with Tony on a regular basis despite having an apartment of her own. She wasn't always there on the same nights that he was but there was always evidence of her presence in the home. An empty teacup by the sink, stray magazines on the end table or a discarded sweater over the back of a chair. What they did or talked about outside of his presence had just never crossed his mind.

"I heard that too.", he replied with a nod of his head before finally turning towards her with a smile. "...but I also heard that it was nonsense."

Pepper hummed in response as she sipped at her own hot beverage before smiling back. "I don't know, I heard it from a pretty wise man."

"Me too.", Peter replied as he looked from Pepper to Tony. 

Realizing at the moment that Tony must have repeated those words to Peter at some point, Pepper almost laughed. "Well, not every genius is good at recognizing truth when they hear it. Maybe we should start collecting some data."

"Yeah, maybe we should.", Peter returned with a deep sigh because collecting data would mean drinking more hot chocolate and he could live with that. 


	3. Chapter 3

The remainder of the evening was spent very much like the previous one. Except May wasn't there this time. She'd gone to work and planned on going back to the apartment to sleep after. That meant that Peter had the large couch to himself. Though that wasn't near as much of a benefit as he thought it would be. He missed having her beside him and he longed for some sort of company. He considered going to Tony's bedside as he had the night before but Pepper was in there asleep on a cot. It didn't feel like there was room for another body in there at the moment and he didn't want to impose. After that, he even so briefly considered curling up on the unoccupied cushions beside where Happy was lightly dozing with his feet up on a small ottoman but he didn't. He wasn't sure how the man would react. They got along and the man had occasionally patted his back or placed a firm hand on his shoulder but that was about the extent of it.

With Tony, there had been no consideration about how he would react to any kind of close physical proximity. It had just_ happened_ one day. A completely natural impulse. Peter had arrived after school one afternoon feeling awful. His joints had been aching all day while his head pounded in time with his heart. In complete contrast to his normal behavior, he'd come into the lab quietly. Tony hadn't even noticed him until he'd crossed the distance between them and was announcing that he didn't feel great. Tony had brought him to the couch and gotten him a glass of water before sitting down beside him. Then without thinking he'd leaned his throbbing head onto Tony's shoulder in search of comfort. He'd been able to feel the man tense up beneath him and just as he was about to right himself, Tony'd sighed and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him in a little more closely. '_That bad, huh, kiddo? It's alright, you just rest. I don't have anywhere else I'd rather be, anyway.',_ he'd said as he'd allowed himself to noticeably relax.

Looking back it was as if that one small moment in time had singlehandedly pushed their relationship over the cusp of being nothing more than a mentor and a mentee and into something that felt almost... parental. From that point forward, things like Tony ruffling his hair, wiping away his tears and hugging him became normal to the point that it felt as though it had always been that way. 

After another hour or so laying awake on the lonely couch, Peter gave in and moved across the room to where Happy was still snoring. Then he ever so carefully laid himself down with his head near the man's hip, taking care not to disturb him. Even though they weren't close enough to be touching, knowing someone else was beside him made it easier to close his eyes and he was soon lulled to sleep by the man's rhymic breathing. 

When he next awoke, the first thing Peter noticed was a heavy hand resting on the side of his head. Initially, he thought it was Tony's hand and he smiled. Then upon opening his eyes, he remembered where he was and why he was there. He continued to lay there for several minutes allowing the weight of Happy's hand to comfort him as he watched the sun begin to peek over the New York skyline through the large picture windows of the waiting room.

By the time the sun was high enough in the sky to illuminate the room with its orange hues, Happy was awake and absentmindedly rubbing his hand up and down Peter's arm, where he still lay on his side. "You awake, kid?", he whispered and was somewhat surprised when Peter turned his head towards him and nodded. He'd thought sure that the kid would have retreated at his touch if he'd been awake but that didn't seem to be the case and it made him smile a little. "I need to get for a minute. You want some breakfast?"

As much as Peter wanted to say 'no', he knew that the only acceptable answer was 'yes' so that's what the said before sitting up and pressing the heels of his hands into his tired eyes. Looking at the clock for the first time since waking, he sighed. He'd only slept for a handful of hours. The next through to cross his mind was Tony and whether or not he was okay. He was just about to jump up off the couch to find out when Happy returned with a couple of bottles of juice and a box of breakfast pastries. "I know it's not much but I ordered some eggs and bacon, it'll be here soon. ...and before you ask, Tony's fine. The nurses are looking everything over now but they say he's responding to treatment and his last scan looked really good. You can go see him after you eat a real breakfast, okay?"

It felt odd to have Happy legitimately taking care of him as he was. Usually, that was May, Tony or at times, Pepper's territory. Generally speaking, Happy did all of his caring from a distance. Asking him about his day, a pat to the shoulder or a rare bit of advice when necessary. This was different but it wasn't unwelcome. When the man subsequently took a seat directly at his side, Peter took a chance and carefully leaned onto him. He half-expected the man to immediately stand back up or at minimum pull away but he didn't. He merely handed over a bottle of juice and started to tear open the box of pastries. 

The entire rest of the day when by in a rapid haze. The rest of the team, having been discharged after having their own injuries tended to, stopped by at random to offer their support. A few sat around for a while and chatted with Happy, Pepper or upon her late afternoon return, May but most of them just asked about Tony's wellbeing, gave Pepper a hug or a few words of encouragement and then left. They tried to speak to Peter as well but when the conversation inevitably turned one-sided they would pat him on the shoulder or knee and step away. None of them seemed overly offended and for that he was thankful. 

Sunset seemed to be the hardest part of the day. That's when visitors stopped coming and May would leave for home and then work. She didn't even stop by between this time, presumably hoping that he would take a nap as he had the day before but he didn't. Pepper tried to pull him up to his room but he wasn't having it. The anxiety of the next day was starting to build within him. In the morning they were going to start easing Tony out of his heavy sedation and wean him onto some less aggressive pain medication. After he was awake, the doctors were going to start evaluating him for any lasting damage. That was the part that terrified him the most. The fact that the man's brain scans had indicated no major injury outside of some swelling wasn't enough to prevent his mind from conjuring up every worst-case scenario. 

Just as he had the evening before, Peter eventually made his way into Tony's room sometime after nightfall. Even though he was in and out of that room all day long there was something different about being in there during the evening hours. Though he couldn't quite put his finger on what that was. The room stayed the same no matter what the hour was. It was dim, cool and quiet even with the constant coming and going of the staff. The only notable variance was that the glow behind the tightly closed blinds was a pale white rather than a burning yellow. 

The second he walked into the room, Pepper smiled at him and offered to go get them some hot chocolate thereupon giving Peter time to talk to Tony in private. Then it hit him that maybe that was the difference between night and day. During the day, Pepper, Happy and now Rhodes were in and out of the room meaning that he was always with someone else. At night, it seemed that Pepper made an effort to give him some space. 

Taking a deep breath, he took hold of Tony's hand but let go shortly after. He didn't like the way it stayed limp in his hand but he wanted to touch him so he laid his hand on his forearm instead. "Tony? They're going to start letting you wake up tomorrow and I'm really happy about that.", he started before pausing to gather his thoughts. "...but I'm also really scared that you won't be the same. Everyone keeps telling me that you'll be fine but I'm so, so scared and I don't have anyone to talk to because when I try they just treat me like I'm some kind of little kid and tell me that everything is going to be alright but they don't actually know that. I'm not dumb, I can hear them talking and... and... I know that there's no way for them to know if you're really okay or not until you're awake so... I'm scared." At this point tears were falling freely, sliding down his cheeks and dropping silently onto the crisp white hospital sheets. 

That's exactly how Pepper found him upon her return. Discarding the two steaming cups on a table near the door she hurriedly crossed the room towards the crestfallen child who was crumbling at her fiance's bedside. There were no words as she cautiously placed a hand upon his back. She had nothing to say, no more words of comfort, no more promises to make. It was as if the supply of optimism she'd been offering for the last three days had run dry and maybe that's what Peter needed because before she knew what was happening, Peter was releasing his hold on Tony's arm and turning to fall into hers. 

They stayed together for hours, silently drinking cocoa and exchanging guarded looks until it grew so late that Peter was having trouble denying that he was tired. Pepper offered to allow him to sleep on the cot while she occupied the chair but he declined in favor of returning to the couch in the waiting room. He was surprised to see Happy was awake. The man tended to fall asleep to the sound of a television playing in the background by ten-thirty and it was already after midnight. Though, he supposed they were all a little on edge. 

"Come here, kiddo.", Happy said softly as patted the seat beside him. 

Peter wandered over and sat tentatively by his side as he waited to see what the man was going to tell him. When no other words came he looked to his side, to find Happy staring softly in his direction. As their eyes met and uneasy feeling washed through him. Then, feeling exposed he dropped his gaze to the floor. "I'm really tired.", he found himself mindlessly admitting. "I'm just really, really tired."

"I would think so, Peter. You haven't slept more than a few hours at a time in days.", he said before pulling the boy down so that his head rested on the cushion beside his thigh as it had that morning and placed his hand in his hair. "I know you're all worked up about tomorrow but what do you say, you try to sleep some. I'll sit with you."

Satisfied with the proposal, Peter closed his eyes and tried to pretend that the hand on his head belonged to Tony rather than Happy. Getting to sleep was surprisingly easy and he somehow managed to stay that way for a full eight hours. 

As he slowly began to wake, the first thing he noticed was that May was already there. She looked tired from her later night shift and was drinking a cup of coffee beside the equally tired-looking Happy. It took him all of forty-five seconds to remember what day it was and shoot up off of the couch in one fluid motion. "Did they do anything yet?", he blurted out before anyone had time to register that he was even awake let alone already standing in front of them.

"The doctors are going over everything with Pepper now. Someone will come to talk to us as soon as there's something to tell.", May said before standing up and gesturing for him to follow. "Come on, I'll go with you to get some food."

"I can't leave right now!", Peter replied as he began to pace. He'd been awake for less than two minutes and was already beyond stressed out. He didn't understand how Happy and May could both look so calm. Everything could change in the next few hours and there was no way of knowing if that change would be good or bad. It was nervewracking. 

"Alright, calm down, Peter.", Happy placated from where he sat. "Why don't you sit down for a minute. We can figure food out after you relax a little."

"I'm not going to relax until we know something! I can't!", Peter admitted as he continued to walk back and forth by the window. 

"Peter!", May finally shouted in order to gain her nephew's undivided attention. "I'll go get you some food. You sit down with Happy. Do you want Waffle Hut? I don't mind going to get it. I know how much you love thier loaded french toast."

In all honesty, Peter didn't care what food ended up in front of him. He wasn't sure how much of it he would eat anyway but after some consideration, he couldn't deny how good that sounded. Waffle Hut breakfast was a rare treat. Something that was usually reserved for special occasions. "Sure. Can I have one of their caramel ice coffee things too?"

"I'm not sure I want you to have any caffeine, kid. You already seem pretty worked up.", Happy laughed from where he sat. As far as he knew he'd never seen Peter drink coffee before. He sure as hell knew that Tony never gave it to him but what did he know. The kid wasn't exactly a toddler and he was pretty sure other kids his age practically lived off of Starbucks alone.

"I'm not worked up!", Peter shouted, which didn't really help him any. Raising his voice probably wasn't the best way to prove that he wasn't in fact worked up. Neither was the growl in frustration when he realized that but rather than comment on it, May placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Peter, Sweetie, I'll get you the coffee if you promise me you'll settle down while I'm gone.", she said calmly, smiling when Peter nodded his head in agreement. "Alright, I'll be back in a bit. ...Sit."

Peter did sit. He sat for a total of three minutes before his body caught up with is wakefulness and he realized that he needed to head towards a bathroom sometime in the very near future. However, he also didn't want to miss any forthcoming information. So he sat there growing frustrated with himself as he tried to determine exactly how quickly he could get down the hall and back. "How much longer do you think it'll be?"

"Until May gets back? Kid, she just left.", Happy replied with mirth before pointing towards the tall four-seater table in the corner of the room. "If you're starving there're some granola bars and a variety of fruit over in that basket on the table. Steve brought it by yesterday."

"No.", Peter uttered in annoyance. He wasn't stupid, he knew how long ago May had left. He almost wondered if the man was being intentionally irritating. "How much longer until we hear something."

"Peter, I don't know. We'll hear something when we hear something.", Happy sighed out because he'd known from the beginning what the boy had really been asking. He just hadn't wanted to give any sort of answer because the kid was already in a mood and he was sure the lack of specific information would only make it worse. As such, he was slightly shocked when Peter's reaction was nearly agreeable.

"Okay.", Peter replied quietly. He'd been pretty sure that was going to be the answer. Then he sighed and slowly stood up, turning to look pleadingly towards Happy. "I've really gotta go to the bathroom. If they come to talk to us, you'll ask them to wait for me to get back, right?"

"Of course I will but I wouldn't count on that happening. Take your time.", Happy replied softly. It was going to be a long day.

~o~o~o~o~o~

A little later that morning, while Peter was eating breakfast before going back to pacing, Pepper sat anxiously by Tony's bedside. The medication had been reduced meaning that he could potentially open his eye at any moment. She'd been made aware that he would more than likely not speak or respond even if he did but she was eager enough just to see his eyes. She's not seen them in over a week and part of her was worried that if much more time passed she would forget what they even looked like. 

When she wasn't rewarded even after several hours she began to give up hope but not so much that she was willing to leave the room for more than a few minutes. Eventually, she told the nurse that she was going to step out into the waiting room to speak to what she could only assume was a collection of very worried people. She knew they probably hadn't heard anything since early that morning when the doctors were sure that Tony's vitals were remaining stable with the lowered level of sedation. 

Peter was the first to react to her reentry into the waiting area. Probably because with his enhanced senses he was about to hear her footsteps before the doors opened. That alone had him standing nearby waiting for her to appear with a hundred questions already at the tip of his tongue. "Is he awake? Is everything okay? When can I see him?", he asked in rapid succession once she was standing in front of him.

Having been unprepared for the single man ambush, Pepper took a step back. "Peter.", she gasped quietly before refocusing and attempting to process the many questions that had been fired in her direction. "He's stable. Not awake." At this point, Happy, May and the handful of Avenger's who'd show up to get the latest news were all surrounding her and it was overwhelming. "He, uh, he... hasn't opened his eyes. If he doesn't by this evening they'll lower the dose again."

"When can I see him?", Peter asked again with a tightness to his voice. 

"Peter.", May said as a mild correction. It was obvious to her that Pepper was feeling cornered as it was. The last thing that she needed was a frazzled teenager's demands adding to that. 

Pepper looked between all of them before settling her gaze on Peter. "You can come back with me now if you want. For a little while. I'm sure Happy and Rhodes would like a turn too."

Both men looked at each other before looking back at Peter. They knew that despite all of their own anxieties, Peter would more than likely benefit from seeing Tony at the moment than either of them would. The kid had been a mess all day long. "Go on Peter, take you time.", Rhodes finally whispered with an encouraging smile. "Tony's not going anywhere. We can see him when you're done."

Pepper nodded her head and escorted Peter back to the familiar room where the monitoring nurse was waiting. "You didn't miss anything.", she kindly informed, with a gentle pat to Peppers's shoulder. "I'll be back in a little while to check his IV and take his vitals again."

Peter was at the man's bedside before the nurse could finish talking and despite the audience, he was instantly talking. "Tony. You have to wake up now. You have to. open your eyes. _Please_. We're waiting for you to open your eyes!", he quietly stressed before dropping heavily into the chair when it became clear that Tony wasn't going to acquiesce to his demands. As he closed his own eyes he thought about the many, many times that Tony had forcefully required him to wake up against his will. The man would burst into his room and start shaking his shoulder. _'Up and at 'em, kid. Let's go. We've got things to do! You can sleep later_.", he'd say with far more enthusiasm than anyone had any right to have so early in the morning on a non-school day. 

Which a deep breath, Peter opened his eyes back up and went back to Tony's side to offer one more plea as Pepper watched from her own chair. "Tony? You have to wake up. We've got things to do. ... you can sleep later.", he whispered, not really expecting any sort of response. He refused to get his hopes up but he guardedly glanced up at Tony's face anyway. His eyes were still closed but something had changed. There was a small tear that had appeared in the corner of one of the man's eye. "Pepper?", Peter said carefully and quietly. He didn't want to get her hopes up either but he'd not noticed that before and he desperately wanted it to be good news. 

Lifting her head from where she had been staring blankly at the tile, Pepper looked from Peter's hopeful face to Tony's sleeping one. Part of her had hoped that Peter's imploring words would force her fiance to open his eyes but that didn't seem to be the case. From where she sat, she could see that his eyes were still closed tightly. What she couldn't see was the tear that Peter was watching as it started to break free and slowly roll down Tony's pale face towards his ear.

"Pepper?", he said again but this time with more urgency. "Has that happened before?"

That question had Pepper rising to her feet and at Peter's side in no time at all. It took her a moment to realize what he'd been questioning because it was no longer obvious. The tear its self had dropped down into the man's hair but the damp track was still there if you were looking for it. "No.", she replied before talking to Tony herself. "Tony. Peter's here with me and we need you to open your eyes up now.", she whispered as she pressed the nurse's button and placed her hand on the side of Tony's face. "Tony? Can you hear me? Wake up."

While Tony's eyelids remained clamped down tight, at that point they could see his eyes moving slightly underneath them. The nurse walked in seconds later and squeezed herself into the space between the equipment and the other side of the bed so that neither Peter not Pepper had to step away. "This is good.", she said with a smile before pulling a small penlight out of her pocket and directing her attention to her patient. "I'm going to check your eyes, okay, Mr. Stark? Just a really quick flash of light and then I'll leave you alone."

That wasn't the first time Peter had heard nurses talk to Tony about what they were about to do with him and he appreciated it on the man's behalf. Nothing he'd read had given a solid answer to the question of whether or not someone so heavily sedated could hear what was going on around them but he really wanted to think that they could. It was much easier to believe that when the doctors and nurses were talking to him as well. 

As promised the nurse was quick with her evaluation and was soon addressing Pepper again. Despite the fact that he was standing directly beside them, he wasn't listening. His eyes were focused on Tony, watching him with anticipation all the way up until he heard his name. 

"Peter.", Pepper sing-songed once again as if she were trying to gain the attention of a very small child. Though, once he looked up her tone changed back serious. "Did you hear all of that?"

"I wasn't really listening, no.", Peter admitted as his eyes drifted back away from Pepper's face.

"She said that he's starting to wake up some. He still has a lot of sedatives going into him right now but that they'll ease it off even more tomorrow. Everything is going smoothly."

Peter swallowed hard and looked back at Pepper with his brows brought tightly together. "If I go tell May what happened... Will I be allowed to come back?"

"Unless Happy or Rhodes are in here, yes, of course, you can come back.", she replied with a sigh as she suddenly felt selfish for not allowing anyone in there at all for the entire morning and a good part of the afternoon. When she'd made that decision it was so that she could be the one who was there when he first opened his eyes. She wanted her face to be the first thing that he saw when he woke up. For him to know that she'd been there the whole time. She'd not given up or abandoned him. It wasn't until after she'd gone out into the waiting room that she's been able to realize how much that choice had affected the rest of Tony's family. Her family. Especially Peter. She wouldn't make that mistake again. Tony needed to know that they were all there. 

As Peter happily relayed what Pepper had just told him to May, Rhodes and Happy took turns going in to see Tony and offer their support to Pepper. Neither of them stayed terribly long knowing that without a doubt, Peter would be wanting to get back in there. They all knew that Peter was attached to Tony on a good day. Followed him around, asked him a million questions and had managed to talk him into doing things that no one would have ever imagined the man doing. Things like planning a trip to Legoland or going to see the latest SciFi movie. The kid had even managed to talk Tony going ice skating over his Christmas vacation. Something no one expected but everyone, including the media, had gotten an absolute kick out of. It was clear that the attachment went both ways.

That night, Peter bargained to sleep in the room with Tony despite how cramped it felt with the cot pulled out in it. He'd reasoned that he could sleep just fine curled up in a chair and that if he changed his mind later he could always go back out to the couch. No one argued with him and by one in the morning he was resting in the chair still wrapped up in Tony's jacket with an added blanket wound around his shoulders. 


	4. Chapter 4

Peter woke up early when the doctors and nurses came into the room and started bustling about checking all of Tony's vitals, changing out various bags and tubes and talking to Pepper about the plan for the day. They were going to be lowering the sedation a bit more aggressively in hopes of getting some sort of reaction from him. Apparently they really wanted to get him to the point that he could answer some yes or no questions hopefully get him off of the ventilator completely. Though they still didn't seem to be expecting him to speak. Saying that it was completely normal for a person being weaned off of such heavy sedation to take as much as a few days to begin trying to communicate verbally. 

As they were making the adjustments Peter didn't know what he was supposed to be doing. No one had asked him to leave the room but part of him wondered if he should. He knew he should be eating something. He'd not really been eating enough over the last several days but he didn't want to leave. As he stepped into the attached bathroom he got a glimpse of himself in the mirror and he looked terrible. His hair was greasy and practically matted, his eyes were dull and sunken in and he could have sworn he looked as though he'd actually lost some weight. One good night's sleep and one shower in four days just wasn't enough to keep up appearances. No wonder everyone kept harassing him about taking care of himself.

When he'd exited back into the room all of the nurses but one had left and Peter decided to feel out the situation. "How long until he wakes up?", he asked carefully. He knew there was no actual timeline but he hoped there was at least a minimum. An 'it will be at least this long' type of situation but apparently it could take anywhere from five minutes to twelve hours as they slowly reduced the medication. Just as he was about to settle back into the chair Pepper stepped in front of him. 

"Peter, you need to go eat and take care of yourself. Tony wouldn't want you skipping breakfast like this and you know it.", Pepper firmly stated but Peter couldn't help but feel like she was being a little hypocritical. She looked just as bad as he did. 

"Are you going to take care of you?", he asked, backtalking before he had time to think about his words but he was quick to try and retract them. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry."

Pepper sighed. "No, you're right. It's just that, you're a kid, Peter--"

"--I'm not a little kid.", Peter interjected. He didn't need people to fuss over him. Especially right now, it felt suffocating.

Pepper, took a step closer and placed a finger under his chin in order to force his gaze to meet hers. "You're Tony's kid. You know that right?", she asked with a softness to her voice that Peter couldn't ignore.

Taking a step back, in order to look as casual as possible, while avoiding further eye contact, Peter nodded his head. "Yeah. That's why I can't leave him. What if he wakes up while I'm gone?"

"Then I'll have a nurse come find you or FRIDAY call you. I promise but we both know that Tony would be very upset with me if I didn't at least try to force you to eat, sleep and take shower once in a while.", Pepper assured as firmly as she could while still wearing a soft gentle smile. 

"Yeah.", Peter half-laughed because that was true. The man had no tolerance for any sort of lack of hygiene outside of his own work binges. Even when it was unintentional because there was nowhere else to be and laying around was the only thing on the agenda. May had gone out of town once and Peter had chosen to stay with Tony. He'd decided ahead of time that he was going to take some time off too, keep an eye on the news and only go out as Spider-Man if needed to. The following Sunday afternoon Tony had come up from the lab to find him lounged across his couch munching on potato chips and had rolled his eyes. _'You know_, _I'm all for a good lazy weekend but you've been wearing those same sweat pants for almost three days. Go take a shower, Pete. You stink._', Tony had said with a dramatic wave of his hand a gentle shove to the shoulder that made had made Peter laugh before relenting and scurrying off to his room to clean up. "You're probably right."

When Peter returned later, Pepper wasn't in the room, it was Happy there instead. He didn't even bother to ask where she was. He already knew that Happy had more than likely thoroughly convinced her to go upstairs for a while, herself. They'd probably just missed each other. 

"Hey, Peter. You look much better. Did you see your Aunt May before you came back in here? Last I heard she was going to go to the common floor with Steve and Clint. Something about a homemade lasagna.", Happy said as Peter settled down in the chair beside him. 

"I saw her. She said that they were going to be making something for dinner. She doesn't have work today.", Peter mumbled in his arms where he had his knees pulled up to his chin and his hands wrapped around them. "Did I miss anything here?"

"Nope.", Happy sighed out before the room went silent again.

The second Pepper returned, Happy made his exit and she took his place. About that same time, the nurse came in to once again go over all of Tony's monitors and lower the dose of medication again, commenting that he must be a hard sleeper. It wasn't even an hour after that when the alarms in the room started going off startling Peter to the point that it was miraculous he didn't end up on the ceiling. 

As he was gritting his teeth and covering his ears, the doctors and nurses came barreling in and were practically shoving him out of the way. Being unable to see what was going on, his heart was racing but he assumed since no one was sending him away, that it wasn't anything bad. He tried to hear what the nurse was rapidly explaining to Pepper but he couldn't tell what she was saying over the piercing bells. Then as suddenly as they had started the alarms all went silent and he could see Pepper crying. 

His heart dropped as he stood there frozen in place. He watched Pepper cross the room and lean over Tony's bed. He couldn't see much else because of all of the various staff members that were still filing out of the room. Still no one said anything to him or even looked at him and he was getting very close to panicking when he abruptly realized that the sound of the ventilator has stopped. While there was still a steady beep in the air the puffs and hisses that were keeping Tony alive just moments ago were gone. 

He took several tentative steps towards the edge of the bed where Pepper stood and looked cautiously over her shoulder. Tony was awake. His eyes were open and half of his face was no longer obstructed by tubes and tape. That had all been replaced by a thin clear cannula under his nose. "Tony?", he gasped out causing Pepper to rapidly turn around. 

In all of the commotion, Pepper had forgotten that Peter was even in the room until that moment but she was glad that he was. "Peter, come here.", she said as she tugged his arm so that he was at her side rather than behind her. Once he was there, she turned her attention back to Tony's glazed over eyes and began to address him instead. "Look, Tony, Peter's here. Happy, Rhodey, May... they're all here too. We've been waiting for you.", she said with a smile but he didn't respond outside of a few slow blinks of his eyes and then he was asleep again.

The nurse who had stayed behind after everything else was cleared looked between Pepper and Peter and smiled before going over what had happened and how not everyone wakes up peacefully after being sedated as he'd been. She went on further to explain that Tony would still be drifting between awake and asleep for a while but that she suspected the next time he opened his eyes it would be less dramatic. Peter couldn't help but smile because there was nothing Tony loved more than a dramatic entrance. Mission accomplished. 

After that, everyone was in and out of the room, in turn, including May who'd yet to see go into the room prior and as predicted, Tony did open his eyes several more times that day. For each time he did so, he seemed less and less distant. By evening he was tracking voices with his eyes and answering the occasional yes or no question with a light squeeze of a hand. Though, not consistently enough to get any real information. The nurses and doctors were all quick to assure everyone that this was normal. 

During the evening, almost everyone made their way down to the common floor to eat the dinner that So many of them had worked together to prepare. Even Pepper and Peter took turns going down, fixing a plate and making pleasantries. Knowing that Tony was waking up and responding to stimuli was enough to ease a lot of the worry that they had all been carrying over the last few days.

Late that night, when everything had slowed down, Pepper and Peter sat in their seats by Tony's bed quietly talking and drinking some hot cocoa. Tony had been asleep for a while at that point and Peter was really hoping he would wake up one more time before he left the room to go sleep on the couch or maybe his bed. He hadn't decided yet but either way, he'd all but given up on seeing Tony again that night when the man slowly turned his head towards them.

Pepper smiled and walked over to the edge of the bed where she leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. "Hey...", she said softly, using her hand to bring Tony's focus to her eyes. 

"Hey, Pep.", Tony had whispered in return causing Peter's eyes to shoot up in shock. Tony had answered her. It had been barely audible and his voice had sounded gravelly and tight with lack of use but he was sure that it was the greatest sound he'd ever heard in his life. Peter tried to give them a minute, he really did. He knew that he should sit back and allow them to have that moment but he could only hold himself back for a few seconds before he was standing directly beside Pepper. He didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say but soon enough it did matter because Tony was turning his head to look at him. "Kid...", he said just as quietly.

Having turned into a smiling, crying mess, all Peter could do was wipe at his eyes while Pepper replied on his behalf. "Yes, Tony, We're both here. Rhodey and Happy will be back later."

When Peter had ultimately collected himself, he took a deep breath and wiped his eyes one more time. "I've missed you so much.", he said leading himself into a burst of unexpected tears.

"Don't.", Tony started before, coughing lightly as his dry throat seemed to stick to its self. "Don't cry."

"I'm sorry. I'm just so _happy. _I thought I'd lost you and, and... I couldn't. I'm just really glad you're here.", Peter cried as Pepper wrapped an arm around him and started to rub his back gently. 

"Peter, It's okay. Look why don't you step out there and see if the nurse can get him some water.", Pepper said before looking towards Tony. "What do you think? Should Peter go get you some water?", she asked hoping the man had enough wits about him to agree or at minimum not answer at all but when he nodded his head lightly in the positive, Peter stepped out of the room, still sniffing.

Not long after, Peter returned with a large water-filled tumbler with a flexible straw in his hands and a familiar nurse following closely behind him. "Well, look at you, Mr. Stark. We've been waiting for you to come around and start talking to us. Peter, here has some water for you and then I'm going to look you over, alright?"

Pepper helped Tony sip at the water and the nurse did her workup. Not long after a doctor arrived and did her part as well. Tony was deemed as recovering and brief mentions of things like surgery for his arm came up before the room cleared out at nearly one in the morning. The excitement and adrenalin were wearing off and Peter was starting to fade into exhaustion. He was just starting to consider going to his own bed in his own room when Tony was looking at him again.

"Com'ere, kid.", Tony breathed out quietly having not managed to get the full use of his voice back. "Sleep."

Peter laughed because even from a hospital bed the man was demanding that he go to bed. It was a good thing he didn't know what time it was, other than the fact that Pepper had told him it was 'late'. "I'm going to, I promise. It'll be much easier now that you're getting better.", he admitted with a small smile. Then as he started to turn to leave the room, Tony addressed him again. 

"No.", he said with a half-cocked smile as he lightly patted the edge of the bed beside him. "Here."

At first, Peter was unsure of what the man had meant. Then it occurred to him all of the times that Tony had laid with him on the couch after a particularly bad nightmare and realized that he was trying to comfort him. He wanted nothing more than to accept the offer but there were still so man tubes and wires surrounding the bed that he wasn't sure he could get up there without disturbing something. While he wasn't large by any means, he wasn't exactly tiny either. "I don't think that's a good idea. I don't want to hurt you.", Peter replied with trepidation as he looked between both Pepper and Tony. 

"Safe.", Tony said with as much firmness as his breathy speech would allow.

When Peter continued to look anxious, Pepper tried to step in to ease the tension. She could see that the boy was already beyond tired and the uncertainty of the request Tony was making of him seemed to be weighing heavily. "Honey, Peter's safe. We're all safe. We're going to be okay.", she said as she patted Tony's shoulder. 

Tony, however, wasn't going to be convinced at the moment. Even in the state, he was currently in, he was beyond stubborn. What Tony Stark wants Tony Stark gets, that was how the world functioned. "Right. Here.", he said again before closing his eyes for a few seconds.

"Well, Peter, you can either hang around until he falls back to sleep or just do as he says. Goodness knows he won't give it up.", Pepper said with a sigh when Tony had opened his eyes back up, still looking expectantly between them. She'd really hoped he'd already gone back to sleep and that was going to be the end of it. "You know, I'm pretty sure that if I didn't tell him earlier that I would be in a bed right beside him he would have made us both get in there.", she added with a laugh but she meant it. For whatever reason Tony was feeling extremely protective at the moment.

Nodding his head and relenting, Peter carefully climbed up onto the bed, squeezing himself between the railing and Tony's side. Pepper helped to make sure none of the leads that were tracking the man's vitals were being obstructed and before too long, Peter was beginning to allow himself to relax, with his nose just inches from Tony's shoulder. 

Once he was completely settled, he felt a blanket being tossed over his side and snuggled into it before glancing towards his mentor's face. "Good-night, Tony. I love you.", he said for the very first time as sleep began to overtake him. However, despite his drowsiness, he heard Tony's reply and smiled contentedly. 

"Love you, too.", Tony'd whispered back before closing his eyes as well and at that moment, Peter was sure that all was right with the world. Tony was very much alive and with time everything was going to fall back into a normal rhythm. He would go back to school, pass his exams and Tony would be there to celebrate with him. Then they would spend the summer tinkering in the lab together. Tony teasing him about his latest interest or lecturing him about taking on too many risks, begging him to stay safe because '_he had a heart condition_'. All was well and Tony was still right there. He was going to recover. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

In time, Tony did heal. He was released from medical after nearly three weeks but physical therapy continued for some time after that. The surgery on his left arm had been successful and he'd regained a full range of motion. Peter had returned to school just in time to pass every single one of his exams and as predicted, Tony was proud. 

As it were, Peter's fears that Tony wouldn't be the same were unjustified. Though in fact, he had changed. However, the change was so small and no one, save for a very small number of people noticed it but Peter latched onto it right away. While Tony still insisted on buying him things he'd also added the words 'I love you.' to his vocabulary and like every other progression their relationship had been through, it felt nothing but natural. 

Several months later, when Tony had been given the go-ahead to _officially _get back to physical work, Peter was with him. The slight shake in his left hand was still evident with overuse but assurances had been made that would fade as he continued to build back the muscles that had been damaged and weakened by lack of use. Peter never mentioned it. He never mentioned anything to do with his mentor's time in medical. Save for the loss of his parents and subsequently, his uncle Ben, that had the worst week of his life. Even with everything back in sync, he didn't like to talk about it and everyone seemed to have noticed. Tony included.

"You know I'm fine now, right, Buddy?", Tony asked when Peter had been staring at him for a few moments too long. He knew that the time he'd spent tethered to a hospital bed had weighed heavily on Peter and sometimes he could still see the effects of it in the kid's eyes and he hated it. When Peter nodded his head and turned away from him he sighed. "Kid, come here. We need to talk about this."

Peter swallowed and crossed the room to sit across from Tony. He was sure what needed to be talked about but he was sure he wouldn't enjoy it. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Whatever's going through your head when you stare at me like that. Pete, I'm fine. Never been better. What are you worried about?", Tony replied as he attempted to look the boy in the eyes. Though things remained comfortably silent for several minutes before Peter took a deep breath and spoke. 

"Do you remember anything, Tony?", Peter asked with no real context.

Coking his head to the side, Tony tried to determine what exactly the kid was referring to. He had his suspicions but he didn't want to go down a road that didn't need to be gone down so he asked for clarification. "What do you mean, Pete?"

"From when you were asleep. Do you remember?", Peter replied carfully. As much as he didn't like to talk about that period of time. That question had been nagging him for a while. 

Tony sighed because he'd already had this same exact conversation with Pepper. Though that time around it had felt more like curiosity and less like a test. For some reason, he felt like Peter was urging him to remember something very specific and he wasn't sure he could give him that. "Bits and pieces. Pepper clarified a few things for me so at this point I'm not one hundred percent sure what I remember and what I was told."

"Do you remember anything about me?", Peter asked quietly. He didn't know what he hoped the answer would be but he felt somewhat on edge as he waited for it. 

"I clearly remember telling you not to cry.", Tony said with a smile. He remembered that more clearly than he did greeting Pepper when he first spoke. "I also remember you getting into the bed with me and saying that you loved me."

"Yeah.", Peter replied just as meekly, with a nod of his head. "Is that all?"

Leaning back in his chair and rubbing his hands down his face, Tony sighed once more. The majority of his memories prior to speaking were fuzzy at best. There were no clear words or situations but he seemed to have had some sort of primal awareness during that time. Just enough to know who had been in and out of the room. "I have vague memories of you being sad and scared. Nothing specific. Just me feeling like I needed to help you."

Peter looked up for the first time since the conversation had really began and nodded his head. "I told you I was scared.", he said matter of factly before going back to studying his shoelaces. 

"I don't remember you saying that Buddy but I must have heard you.", Tony softly admitted. "When I woke up all I wanted to was keep you and Pepper as close as possible."

"Yeah.", Peter replied but this time with a smile. The man had been extremely adamant that they not leave the room. Even Happy and Rhodes had trouble getting away without some serious questioning. Saying that he was being over-protective would have been an understatement. "You did. I was worried you would be upset when I went back to school."

"You needed to be there and I was well aware of that by then.", Tony replied with a smile of his own. The kid had already missed an entire week and a day of school when they finally talked him into going back. He'd had four days of prep-time before exams began. 

That answer was followed by more silence as Peter's face dropped from smiling back to serious before he said anything else. "What if it happens again, Tony?"

"Then we'll get through it again but I promise I'll do my absolute best to stay in one piece.", Tony said as he absentmindedly began to run his right hand up and down his left arm were the worst of the damage had been. 

"Good.", Peter returned before moving to sit beside the man rather than in front of him. 

"Good? That's everything?", Tony asked in mild disbelief. He sort of expected a much longer conversation to be had. The boy had been acting antsy for a while. "Nothing else going through that head of yours that I need to know about?"

"No, I'm good.", Peter said as he leaned over onto Tony's side and was rewarded with an arm being wrapped around him. Then as he soaked up the comfort that the man's warm embrace provided another thought crossed his mind and he felt a strong urge to bring it up. "Hey, Tony?"

"Yeah, kiddo?", Tony said, making an effort to look beside him.

"It's not nonsense.", he said before realizing how unclear he sounded. "...Hot cocoa I mean. It really does warm the heart and soothe the soul."

Tony huffed a laugh and gave the boy beside him a firm squeeze. "Is that so. ...and how do you plan on backing that up?"

"With data, Tony. Pepper and I compared notes.", Peter replied with as much seriousness as he could in the moment. 

"Did you now...", Tony returned with amusement. This was not a conversation he's been expecting but he was glad to be away from the more delicate topics. "Well, I think I need to weigh in on this. I am the genius around here."

"Mm-hmm.", Peter agreed, no longer able to keep up the unamused facade. 

Tony smiled softly and stood up before offering a hand to help Peter to his feet as well. "Well, what do you say, kid? Should we wrap this up and go double-check those statistics of yours?" 

"I'd like that, Tony.", Peter smiled. "I'd like that a lot."

It didn't take much longer for them to get everything cleaned up and in its place. As such, they were soon wrapped up in blankets on the couch of the penthouse, each holding a warm mug. The second Tony had emptied his cup he set it aside and adjusted his posture so that Peter could curl into him. "Yep. I think you're right. The evidence is pretty clear. Consider my heart warmed and my soul soothed.", he said with a sigh. 

All was right with the world. 


End file.
